As we're closing in on the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, new reports start to paint a clearer picture of what the movie could be about. Interestingly enough, the wall-crawler's upcoming adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has shifted a lot over the past few months. What was almost guaranteed to be a multiversal tale featuring Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is now shaping up to be a street-level epic involving many different characters.
Scorpion, Toombstone, and Boomerang are all rumored to make an appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Mr. Negative acting as the main antagonist in what would be his live-action debut. With so many villains on the horizon, it isn't a surprise to learn Marvel might plan for Spidey to team up with someone else to save the day. But while fans' minds could instantly think about Daredevil or even The Human Torch, it seems we could instead see a very unlikely team-up that very few could've originally expected.
The Hulk will reportedly appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Nexus Point News has reported that Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner is set to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day in a role "much larger than a cameo". While it hasn't been revealed how he'll factor into the story, it can be argued that the Hulk would seem like a strange fit for a Spidey project at first glance. Let's not forget the former raging monster has not interacted with the wall-crawler at any point in the MCU. However, there are already some interesting theories that could explain how it could all work out.
Bruce Banner could be a professor at Peter Parker's college, acting as a scientific mentor throughout the movie. If Mr. Negative does appear, then there's a chance that he could use the Devil's Breath formula to try and take out other criminal families as it happened in comic book pages. Fortunately, the combined minds of Peter Parker and Bruce Banner could come up with a cure just before tragedy strikes. But beyond the scientific realm, there could be a deeper connection between these two MCU heroes.
There was a time when Spider-Man willingly revealed his secret identity to the whole world as part of the Superhuman Registration Act in comic book pages. However, he quickly realized his enemies would use this information to target anyone close to him, and Peter undid such a reveal by making a pact with Mephisto. Everyone forgot Spidey's secret identity, and things went back to "normal"... or so it originally seemed. During the pages of Immortal Hulk: Great Power (2020) #1, it was revealed that Hulk still remembers Peter is the man behind the Spider-Man mask, even if Bruce Banner doesn't.
In a similar fashion, audiences witnessed how the MCU's iteration of Peter Parker erased his complete identity from the world, effectively losing every single relationship he had in the process. However, this move also made everyone forget who was under the Spidey mask after Mysterio gave it away. Maybe Spider-Man: Brand New Day could also reveal that the Hulk is the only one to remember about the superpowered teenager's existence post No Way Home.
Granted, this reveal would have a diminished impact considering the two heroes didn't have a personal relationship beforehand, and the only reason Bruce would know of Peter is because he saw him on the news courtesy of Mysterio. Still, it would be a nice way of giving the wall-crawler a breath of fresh air in a time when no one even knows him.
On the contrary, we should also consider the possibility that Hulk wouldn't be on the right side of history. Many are claiming that Savage Hulk could act as the main antagonist of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (which could tie into the long-rumored World War Hulk movie). If not, the Hulk persona Joe Fixit could very well be one of Mr. Negative's henchmen in a Maggia-centric tale. So, there are definitely ways in which the green monster could fit into the film. But will his appearance actually become a reality?
It's always important to take any MCU rumors with a grain of salt. Let's remember that Mark Ruffalo himself confirmed he would appear in Captain America: Brave New World, but that didn't end up happening. Additionally, Bruce Banner was also reported to appear in Moon Knight to no avail. So this shaky track record should be an indication that nothing is ever truly set in stone until Marvel itself confirms it. Fortunately, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to start filming in late July 2025, which means set photos and official announcements could make their way online very soon.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on July 31, 2026.